Action against police, calls to defund or completely disband Police Departments across the country. The most extreme example, minneapolis, the epicenter of the outrage of course over the death of george floyd two weeks ago today. The city council now announcing veto proof plans to dismantle, that is the word, its police force. Other major cities are taking action. Los angeless mayor wants to ship 150 million from Police Budget to disenfranchised communities. New york is pledging to cut funds from the nypd and give them to social programs instead. Tonight the president is seizing on these calls and trying to turn it into an Election Year issue. There wont be defunding. There wont be dismantling of our police. There are not going to be any disbanding of our police. All of this tension leading to more protests on the streets tonight. Well go live to new york city amidst the protesters. What is happening and whos there . Whats going on . Reporter and of course, erin, the chants of defund the police can be heard throughout this crowd. Several times here. Tonight were now on the east side of manhattan. 48th street and 3rd avenue. This march set off from Washington Square park where several of the organizers of the march spoke about how there is momentum. How they need to keep going and that momentum is on their side, that the world is watching. There are about 2,000 people here marching now. The destination according to the organizers is gracie mansion, the mayors home. Several times the marchers here, the protesters have sat down, taken a moment of silence. They have read the names of the people who have died at the hands of police. Of course, erin, as you know there is no curfew any longer in new york city, so this can go on. I want to note that it is pretty remarkable. The police have allowed the protesters to just march. There are no police around them. There are no police ahead of them. There are no police behind them. A very different stance from what we have seen from the nypd. And the marchers say they continue and intend to keep on going basically through the night, erin. All right. Thank you very much, shimon and as you heard that chant, he said defund the police. Tonight thousands have been paying their respects to george floyd. There was a public viewing at a church in floyds hometown of houston. Today marked two weeks since floyds death. Omar jimenez is outfront. Reporter as George Floyds body arrives at the fountain of praise church in his hometown of houston, texas, it was the publics last chance to say goodbye. Former Vice President and Presumptive Democratic nominee joe biden visited with the floyd family privately for over an hour according to the family attorney. It was two weeks ago to the day this single cell phone video led to protests around the country. And the world. Over more than just floyds death. This is a most horrific tragedy ive ever personally observed. That george floyd is going to change the arc of the future of the United States. George floyd has not died in vain. It is not about whether he was perfect or not but how he died. He died unjustly and god uses us in ways we could never imagine at birth and i think hell use him to change the world. Reporter in minneapolis a majority in the city council is committing to defunding and dismantling the citys police in favor of more Community Based public safety. A pledge that the City Council President lisa bender says means acknowledging the Current System isnt working. What it would feel like to already live in that reality where calling the police may mean more harm is done. Reporter not everyone is entirely onboard. Including the mayor. We need a full on cultural shift in how our Minneapolis Police department and departments throughout the country function. Am i for entirely abolishing the Police Department . No im not. Reporter it is a debate now playing out across the country including in new york city where mayor bill de blasio says they will be shifting some funding from the nypd to youth and social services. Back in houston a family and those that knew floyd best continue to mourn. We are supposed to be at the end of the public viewing period today but people are still lining up as they have in some cases by the bus load throughout the entire day. Tomorrow is when we are going to see the actual funeral for floyd and whether you speak to protesters, family, or even more, they dont look at the burial as the end of floyd. Instead, they look at it as almost the beginning of a legacy. We are now seeing play out and the pushes for long term change. Floyd is set to be buried next to his mother. All right. Omar, thank you very much. I want to go now to minneapolis city councilman Steve Fletcher who was at the forefront of the push to dismantle the Police Department. Councilman fletcher, the whole country wants to know exactly we hear disband the police chants here in new york city. With protesters tonight. So when you say dismantling the Police Department, what exactly do you mean . We mean ending this department as it currently exists. We dont think this department is reformable and it is time to make a real change. So i know youve talked a little bit about what you want to do. Mental Health Professionals for example would be taking Mental Health calls. Emts would respond to opioid overdose calls as opposed to police. Cameras could be used for much of your traffic enforcement. Today the Houston Police chief was asked about your idea and told cnn disbanding a Police Department is in his words an invitation to chaos. What do you say to him and others who may share that view . First of all that starts from the assumption that were in a state of safety and stability today. That is not our experience of the Minneapolis Police department. Omar jimenez obviously saw that first hand and i hope hell not form a permanent impression of our city based on the way he was treated. We have not put our best foot forward in the last couple weeks and a lot of people have come around to really viewing safety as Something Different from police. It used to be that when people wanted safety they would ask for more police and more and more those concepts are separating in my constituents minds. So today the House Majority whip jim clyburn urged democrats on a private caucus call to steer clear of talk about defunding the police and he warned, this is his word, hijack. He said it could hijack their efforts on police reform. Are you concerned you could be handing a victory to President Trump and republicans . You know, i think the only way people really decide how they want to vote and exercise their rights in a democracy is by looking at people behaving with conviction, behaving passionately, and doing what is right. What we know at the local level is what is right for us at the local level. The politics i am concerned about is the safety of the people of minneapolis and then if that turns out to not be politically convenient, you know, that is how this is going to work. It is our job to act courageously. It is our job to act decisively. And to make a safer city for minneapolis. So, steve, what would happen, you know, in the case of, you know, Domestic Abuse or child abuse . Is there any role for police whether youre any of the ones who work for the department or you get rid of all of them . Is there any role for someone who can come in, use force on occasion, or have a weapon in your vision here . So much less often than what we do now. I think we need to have a conversation which is something weve never been able to do. In my lifetime its always been taken for granted that Police Officers with guns and with the threat of force are going to be used to solve any number of problems. We get the chance to step back and ask our community what really makes you feel safe. What actually is going to increase your sense of safety . What we know is for example in Domestic Violence most of those situations could be resolved peacefully and by someone with conflict resolution and outreach skills that would be actually de deescalatory whether when an officer comes in and everyone is worried about if my partner im in a fight with gets arrested you start to see not effective resolutions. We are not starting from a place of a system that works well and trying to replace it but from a place where we think we can do a lot better than the Current System. I want to ask you, someone in your community who owns a distillery in minneapolis, it was set on fire and damaged in the riots. We asked him today what he thought about this. He said i just hope it is being done in a thoughtful way. That by defunding the police we dont create a vacuum where rioting can happen again. The police let our city burn once. We dont need to remove them entirely so it can happen again. What do you say to that, that sense that, you know, he is not trying to excuse them, right, he fully acknowledges what happened but also seeing them as providing safety for personal property. I think that we have to make sure that were taking responsibility for everyones safety and i think that takes a lot of different forms. We are not going to proceed without having an answer to the question who is answering your 911 call . The thing thats been scary is that when mpd really abandoned the community as you heard chris say, during these very challenging times, that was the first time ive ever felt like people really cant get through to 911. People were calling me all night long several nights in a row asking if i could help get them through to help and i should definitely not be the 911 responder. We do have answers to how are we responding to these calls . I just think we can respond very differently and with much better and more compassionate resources than we currently do. All right. Steve fletcher, i appreciate your time. Thank you very much. Thank you. I want to go to the former baltimore mayor. What do you think . Steve is laying that out for minneapolis but these are growing calls across the country, in new york at this moment people out protesting, chanting, defund the police. Others saying dismantle. What do you say to all this . I certainly am not going to substitute my judgment for steves. He clearly knows his constituents and knows his city and his Police Department. It has not been my experience in communities across baltimore and i served as president of the u. S. Conference of mayors. I talked to mayors all across the country. People arent asking for less police. They are asking for better police. The notion that he said it is about listening and trying to figure out a better way to respond or create safe communities, that is a worth while conversation. I think making it this litmus test of whether you defund or dismantle the police or not, i think that is a little dangerous. And of course there is the risk it becomes just that. I know you support joe biden. He said he does not support defunding Police Departments. Of course President Trump is already seizing on it. He posted a whole flurry of tweets as he often does and he said this today. There wont be defunding. There wont be dismantling of our police. And there are not going to be any disbanding of our police. Our police have been letting us live in peace. Are you concerned about this as an issue for joe biden where he gets put in a corner, where it is sort of youre for the protesters or for police if this gets shaped in such a way that it becomes very difficult for him . I am very concerned. I understand the anger and frustration and rage that many of the protesters, even the Peaceful Protesters have. But in these heightened, emotional times i certainly am not willing to cede any room to our current president who needs to be removed from office or elected out. Not reelected in order for us to have a more Perfect Union since he is certainly not interested in any unification at all. Im saying that to say by continuing to say defund, dismantle, we are giving trump talking points, feeding his base. We all know that we can do better when it comes to policing. I think it is a missed opportunity not to figure out what better looks like together and a path forward rather than to, again, have this litmus test of your either for or against us when it comes to dismantling the Police Departments across the country. Thank you so much. I appreciate your time. Thank you. And next the Police Officer who had his knee on George Floyds neck makes his First Court Appearance as a defense attorney for one of the other three officers charged reveals strategy. He did not stand by and watch. He says to chauvin, well, shall we roll him over because he says he cant breathe . Chauvin says, no. Plus the white house says the president has no regrets using tear gas and rubber bullets to remove Peaceful Protesters. Plus as more americans head outdoors, 22 states are now seeing a jump in coronavirus cases. Where the biggest spikes . Right now is a time for action. Thats why usaa is giving Payment Relief options to eligible members so they can pay for things like groceries before they worry about their insurance or credit card bills. Discover all the ways were helping members today. Are made with farm grownal apples as the first ingredient. And key nutrients you want. So you can have a daily multivitamin free of stuff you dont want. One a day Natural Fruit bites. A new way to multivitamin. To my retirement days than ii am my college days. I just want to know, am i gonna be okay . I know people who specialize in am i going to be okay. You may need glasses though. Guidance to help you stay on track. Did yocould be signs that syour digestive systemwn isnt working at its best . Taking metamucil every day can help. Metamucil supports your daily Digestive Health using a special plantbased fiber called psyllium. Psyllium works by forming a gel in your digestive system to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down. Metamucils gelling action also helps to lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. So, start feeling lighter and more energetic. By taking metamucil every day. Breaking news. This is los angeles and live views of the protests there. It comes as Derek Chauvin the former Minneapolis Police officer charged with the murder of george floyd made his First Court Appearance via video conference. Chauvin is the officer seen kneeling on floyds neck for nearly nine minutes. You know, given the pandemic, this was remote. Tell us everything about it. Reporter well, it was a very brief hearing, ten minutes long. The only thing chauvin said the entire time was yes and no when the judge asked if he waived his right to a video hearing. The bail was set at 1. 25 million. It can be lowered to 1 million if officer chauvin agrees to certain stipulations. That is, to give up all of his weapons, not contact the victims, those sorts of conditions on bail. His defense did not react to that. There is no real indication of how this will play out. His next hearing is later this month. Perhaps there will be more there. Some of the other officers, officer lane for instance, his lawyer saying his client, officer lane, was holding the feet of mr. Floyd that day when mr. Floyd was saying he couldnt breathe. He asked, turned to officer chauvin who had much more experience and said should we turn him over and chauvin said no. Both kueng and lane seem to be pointing in that direction but very difficult right now to tell how and what officer chauvin will do in court. All right. Miguel, thank you very much. I want to go now to joey jackson criminal defense attorney and our legal analyst. What do you think his Defense Strategy is going to be here . Just to remind everybody this is somebody who had his knee on someones neck. And then was told there was no pulse. The person said he couldnt breathe and continued to keep the knee on the neck. The Defense Strategy is highly problematic. We are not speaking to the issue of an intentional killing here but talking about a nonintentional, unintentional killing based upon a killing and assault. The only way to go would be to suggest that he was actually constraining him or restraining him in a way that was lawful, proper, and appropriate. If you look at the tape it does not appear that restraint he was using was such. So the question then becomes if you were restraining him, were you doing it for a prolonged period of time . I think everyone can see that he was. Even if you go with the fact that you were restraining him not assaulting him, when does a restraint become an assault and reasonable minds could conclude after nine minutes they do. I think they are really boxed in. Final point on this issue, erin, even if you dont get through that you have the additional issue of criminal negligence. That means he was careless. He was not careful with respect to what he was doing and as a result that still gets you manslaughter. I think the defense, it is highly problematic as it relates to his defense in this case. The prosecutors i would imagine are going to be doing everything they can to get to the bottom of the relationship of the two men prior to this. Some people watching may know but everyone may not be fully aware that c